Occupancy Certificate, Possession Certificate & Completion Certificate – Meaning & Importance
Occupancy
Certificate, Possession Certificate & Completion Certificate – Meaning
& Importance
Do you own a Flat in an
Apartment / high rise building? (Or) Have
you booked a Flat which is under
Construction? Then you need to know the importance of documents
like Completion Certificate (CC) and
Occupancy Certificate (OC).
Occupancy Certificate is also known as Possession Certificate (PC).
As
these certificates are not required while registering a property, most of the
home buyers tend to overlook or ignore collecting these documents from
their previous owners or builders of the apartment.
I
can confidently say that there are thousands of buildings in cities like Mumbai
or Delhi which have been occupied without any Occupancy Certificates. In many
of the cases, the building plans of these apartments are approved but they do
not get OCs due to not sticking to the approved building plan or due to other
violations.
Obtaining Occupancy Certificate and Completion certificate
can be mandatory under respective State laws.
As per these state laws, one cannot legally move into a
building unless the developer gets an occupancy certificate from the respective
local administrative or civic bodies.
The corporation or municipality can ask the apartment owners
to leave such illegally occupied flats or impose heavy penalties in the name of
‘regularization’.
What is Building Completion Certificate
(BCC)?
Upon
the completion of the building construction, the builder or the developer of
the apartment has to apply for the ‘building completion certificate’ with the
local authorities.
If
the building construction is completed as per the building approval plan and if
it also meets other building standards like distance from road, height of the
building, if rain water harvesting system is in place etc., the civic
authorities will issue CC.
What
is Occupancy Certificate or Possession Certificate?
Once
the builder receives the Completion Certificate, they have to obtain Occupation
Certificate from the civic bodies.
OC
certifies that the building has complied with all the required building standards,
local laws and it is safe to occupy.
Occupancy
certificate is issued by local municipal authorities or building proposal
department that provides no objection to occupy the building under reference
for its specified use.
The
OC is issued only once the building has been completed in all respects and can
be occupied.
The
legal possession of the Flat by the Owner is valid only with the Occupancy
Certificate.
So, the main difference between Completion certificate &
Occupancy Certificate is that CC shows that the building construction is done
as per the plan which was approved by the concerned authorities. And after
getting this, occupancy certificate will be given to all buyers so that they
can take possession of their Flats / properties.
Important points on Completion
Certificate & Occupancy Certificate
- Who
can apply for BCC or CC ? – Builder has to apply for CC.
- Who
will issue BCC? – Local civic bodies will issue BCC.
- Who
can apply for OC? – The builder has to obtain OC.
However, the Flat owner can also apply for OC. If you have already
occupied your FLAT without OC, you can approach the Local Corporation or
municipality and apply for OC. If the building has been constructed as per
the approved plans, building standards, fire safety standards and if it
also has BCC then you can get OC in 30 days (legally).
However, the law says that if the building has been constructed without
any plans it cannot be regularized (if there are structural
deviations) and OC may not be issued in such cases.
- How
to get Occupancy Certificate or Possession Certificate? – You may
have to submit below documents along with the application form;
- Copy
of building sanction plan (building plan approval copy).
- Building
Commencement Certificate.
- Copy
of Building Completion Certificate.
- Latest
Property Tax receipt
- Copies
of No Objection Certificates (NOCs) of pollution board
or Airport authority etc.,
- Who
will issue OC? – Local civic bodies will issue OC.
- Kindly
note that buildings which have deviations beyond legally allowed limits
can be treated as illegal constructions. The local civic bodies may not
issue Occupation Certificate in these cases.
- Why
CC or OC are important? Is it safe to buy a flat
without OC/CC?
- To
claim Income Tax benefits on your home loan, your employer may ask you to
submit Occupancy Certificate along with the home loan statement.
- Occupying
a property without an OC is considered as illegal and local civic bodies
can ask you to vacate the property.
- You
may have to face trouble in getting water connection or sanitary connection
or electricity supply connection.
- Most
of the financial institutions may insist on Possession Certificate
to sanction home loans.
- You
may find it very difficult to find a buyer in case if you wish to sell
your Flat in the future.
- Without
an OC, it may be very difficult to obtain Khata Certificate.
- Can
Builders issue Partial Occupancy Certificate? – When
there are blocks or phases of large projects to be developed with varying
completion dates, the concerned authority can grant a partial
occupancy certificate for the completed phases/blocks. After the
completion of entire project, Partial OCs are replaced by final OC
(Consolidated document). Do note that it can be a tough task to get a home
loan with a Partial OC.
- If
your builder is not obtaining OC, you can issue a notice to him to apply
and handover the required documents. Failing which, you can also approach
a consumer forum or can file a writ petition.
- Do
note that obtaining Occupancy certificate for an independent house (row
house) is not mandatory.
- A
builder can get a provisional building completion certificate from local
authorities. But do note that this is valid for six months only. He has to
obtain final building completion certificate.
Most of the errant builders may have good connections and
they may easily escape through various loop holes in the law. So, end of the
day it’s the home buyers who end up suffering for no fault of theirs.
Ø
Be
extra cautious when you are buying Flats (even if the builders are
reputed ones). Check out the Building Commencement Certificate. Also, do
insist on obtaining Completion Certificate and Occupancy Certificate (Possession
Certificate) from your builder or owner. If these documents are not
available with the seller or builder then there is every possibility that the
building may not be constructed as per the approved plan or local building
standards.
Ø
If
you are a new flat owner, insist on an Occupancy Certificate from your builder
before you occupy the property. If you have already occupied the property, get
your OC at the earliest. You may check with other Flat owners and can apply for
OC as a group or through your Residents’ Welfare Association.
I believe that Occupancy Certificate should be made
mandatory for the registration of Flats. It can also be made mandatory for
getting water, sanitary and electrical connections. This can make a huge
difference to buyers of Flats.
All that is needed is Political Will.
-
Dayanand
Nene
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